Catching Lightning
by Rivenchu
Summary: Just what sort of request could Nya ask leaving a baffled Jay and amused Kai? That was not quite the evening he had expected when the samurai asked him to stop by how could he say no? Jaya / Plasma
1. Ruffled Under The Collar

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Ninjago, in fact I just got into the series very recently.

Jay Walker, the elemental ninja of lightning, saver of the world, poet, dabbler in the culinary arts, excellent practitioner of spinjitzu, inventor, and in process of becoming an awesome stealth master on top of that! Yes, yes he was all that. The brown haired teen smirked as he silently tread down the hallway. This was one of the busiest hallways, and soon there would be someone he could sneak up and surprise. The quiet murmur of voices reached his ears and the focused ninja smirked as he paused before a corner.

"...sure about that?"

"It's getting to that point."

"If it goes wrong, catching lightning will be the least of-"

"Catching lightning? What for?" The randomness of the conversation distracted Jay from any notion of stealth as he stepped out to stare perplexedly at the pair. Sometimes curiosity just got the better of him it was often a good thing, but other times not so much. When Nya and Kai just stared back at him blankly, it trickled back into his mind that he had done a good job of keeping his presence unknown. "Guess you didn't hear me coming, but seriously. What you mean catching lightning?"

Nya and Kai shared glance before looking back at the blue eavesdropper. Still looking mildly surprised it was the samurai spoke up first. "It's not catching lightning really, it's more like, uh..." Lifting her hands as if to explain something they hung in the air as she trailed off.

"There haven't been any storms recently, so no thunder no lightning." Kai gestured to the windows and shrugged. The weather had been simply beautiful wherever they went, it was as if any kind of bad weather was avoiding the team.

"Suit. My samurai suit. I have rods set up the catch a lightning strike, it helps power my suit." Nya finished with a smile and half hearted shrug. It ran on some fuel to, but that little spark sure went a long way!

"Why didn't you say so, I can help with that." An eyebrow went up as blue energy arced between his outstretched hands. "Ninja of lightning, plenty of juice to spare." Letting the spark die off before it could grow to wild, Jay beamed. He could help, and that would make his beautiful talented girlfriend happy, right?

"If... only we were near one of the stations I have set up." The black haired warrior shook her head sadly. "I'll let you know when pass by one." Seeing the blue ninja deflate Nya paused thoughtfully, glanced over at her sibling, and then smirked before looking at her boyfriend. "Buuut... there is one thing..."

Ignoring the spiky brown haired teen shake his head furiously, the samurai strolled over to rest an elbow on her boyfriend's shoulder and continued on. "Maybe an hour after dinner you could swing by my room. I have a small favour to ask, and no I can't say what it is til then."

Both eyebrows went up at the request, and out of habit Jay glanced over towards the face palming fire ninja. That was good, he almost expected Kai to have drawn his sword and chase him around. It sounded a bit more personal then anything else they had done after all and an older brother was a force to be reckoned with when it came to his only little sister.

Nodding emphatically the blue teen grinned and gave a thumbs up. "Can do. Should I bring anything? What do I need?" Maybe they were going to look over some plans and have a long conversation? Er, model kit? Small interlocking brick system that seemed to be all the rage?

"Nothing, just you." Nya laughed and stepped away. "See you later then. C'mon Kai." Grabbing her reluctant sibling's elbow the pair wandered down the hall from whence the ninja snuck down earlier.

Staring after smitten teen sighed happily. Maybe they were going to watch a movie? Card game with music in the background? Talk technical plans? Maybe she wanted to show something cool? If it was related to Nya it was by default, incredibly awesome just like she was. Huh, wonder why they hadn't asked him to help earlier?

"Why'd you go and do that?!" A furious hiss drifted from around the corner.

"Trust me." Came the even quieter response.

Hearing without really paying attention Jay walked down the hallway to where the video games was. Maybe he could break Kai's high score to pass the time - was it after dinner yet? Why wasn't it after dinner yet?! Oh these few hours were going to be an eternity with his mind turning over all the possibilities!

It seemed like ages and an eternity had passed yet here the blue ninja stood an hour after dinner at his girlfriend's door. No, he would never forget to stop by even if he bad been so... so... so agonizingly close to breaking the high score. It has been far to long since his name graced the coveted first spot. On the other hand... maybe this favor would put him up to Nya's number one? It was a different kind of high score, but even better!

Ignoring the little flutter in his chest the nervous teen knocked three times and waited. He wasn't supposed to bring anything... but should he have? Up in the air far from the ground flowers were hard to come by, or anything from the store. Maybe a book to talk about, like... the latest tech magazine? It mentioned this interesting guy names Borg...

When the door opened Jay smiled and nervously clasped his hands. "Sure you didn't want me to bring anything? I could go get something really quick if you want." Of course the longer he took, the higher the chance he would run into Kai. From that look he got earlier, it seemed like he wanted to talk. Maybe he shouldn't head out to get some conversation boosting object then... but then he would have tried to catch him before he got to the door. Did he imagine that more than normal intense stare? Or glare? It was sometimes hard to tell with Kai.

The black haired teen chuckled and shook her head. "No, just come on in." Gesturing into her room Nya waited for a couple of seconds before she noticed the slight glaze in her boyfriend's stare. Rolling her eyes the samurai grabbed his wrist and gently tugged him inside. It was usually pretty amusing when Jay's mental gears spun too quickly and he zoned out. Sometimes the most random things popped out of his mouth, good, bad, or just plain weird.

Grounded back to reality the nervous ninja laughed quietly, things were fine, right? "So.. what was it that you," the door closed behind him and Jay stood a little straighter, "uh, wanted me for?" Nothing like this had happened in the months they've been dating. Sure they hung out, but not like this. What if there was an alert, or Kai came barging in... or... or some other airborne enemy suddenly dropped in?! Oh that would just be his luck.

"Remember back when you guys didn't know who Samurai X was?" Walking away from the door Nya sat down on a wooden chest and stared at her kicking feet nervously. There wasn't going to be an easy way to bring this up, but she had to try.

"Yea." The smile faded from the blue ninja's face. To think he had insulted someone he liked so much, and she had been so much cooler than he thought originally. Maybe this wasn't going to be such a good thing after all...

"And you were all running around crazy trying to find out?" Waving her arms around the samurai smirked as memories floated through her mind. That had been some good times showing up the ninja.

"Yea." Clasping his hands behind his back the blue ninja sighed.

"Then what you did." This time Nya looked over at her boyfriend expectantly.

"Well, you helped people who needed helping and it was a classic needing help situation." Jay scratched his head and looked up pleadingly at the black haired girl. Damsel in distress on train tracks was something just about everyone knew about. Samurai X had flown in and laid down more train tracks to divert the incoming train from the pink dress wearing 'blonde'. On top of that the giant mech striking a pose before taking off had been so infuriating at the time. There had been no refunds on the wig and dress either. It had turned out a horrible, awful, no good day at all.

"Well... you know how I promised not to tell anyone else?" Twiddling her hands together the black haired teen looked down at the floor. Oh, he was not going to be pleased, even with that good nature of his.

"No." Eyes widening the boy clasped his face in horror. If everyone had laughed at Zane in a pink apron... and again in a pink gi... how would they take his foray into the pink?! Well, pink crossdressing no less! Oh man he would never, ever, live it down. He had purposely kept it so secret even that shop owner didn't know who he sold the item to, and it was his secret stash of money so Sensei Wu would have no idea!

"Well, I had written a letter back home before I promised that." Biting her lip Nya crossed her arms and shrugged. "It only popped up again recently when she found out I was dating the 'crossdressing one' and then we sort of had an argument." The samurai risked another look at her boyfriend to see how he was taking this.

"The crossdressing one? It was a one time thing!" Still clasping his face in horror the lightning ninja shook his head. There was no way short of world saving he'd want to do that sort of thing again! Well, okay maybe a couple of other situations if it was dire enough preferably the other ninja would have to join in, and lastly not be in pink!

"Ehehe... well, you're going to love this argument then." Nya cleared her throat and stood up straight, "She said it must have been an awful sight, and I disagreed. No guy would ever look good in a dress, and I said lose the wig and a better dress it would have been different... and she said prove it." Smoothing out the wrinkles from her dress gave the samurai something else to do than look at her boyfriend. No, he wasn't taking this too well... she had hoped it would go better, but it could still go very wrong.

"..." Mouth hanging open Jay processed the information for a few seconds. "So you had an argument. With your friend. About how good I'd look in a dress?" Hands dropped to his side as the split eyebrow went up in disbelief, why was this even a thing? Why would this even... just... why?

Opening the chest to rummage inside, she answered, "Pretty much, but I couldn't let her insult you like that. Besides I think it's true." No, red, red, red... man she needed to branch out in different shades soon. Reddish purple? Orange red?

"...over me in a dress." Not bothering to hid the incredulity in his voice the stunned ninja carried on, "Ignoring the world saving thing I've done... but a dress. Me. In a dress." Still trying to wrap his head around the concept the brown haired boy shook his head. "Well, that thing is out in far desert abandoned somewhere." Crossing his arms, the blue ninja glared at the floor as he recalled having changed clothes and then kicking sand over it in his frustration. (So much sand everywhere, it'd taken a whole two days to get sandfree!) Besides there was no real record of pink gown, so the argument was invalid without a direct comparison.

Then, it entered his vision ever so slightly. A pale blue ruffle, a few shades lighter than his own gi's color. Looking up slowly the simple short sleeved dress was... a dress. It looked a little to big for his girlfriend and she was looking at him with hopeful eyes and... and... oh no.

"So... when I saw this I thought of you and picked it up." Nya bit her lip trying to gauge her boyfriends reaction. Currently it was set on shock (haha, if she said that out loud Jay might've enjoyed that), or maybe deer in headlights? It could be going worse right now, but it could be going better too. It was hard to tell which way the proverbial stick would fall, maybe, just maybe it would be in her favor...

The brown haired teen stared. One one hand... it was a dress, on the other hand it had been picked up for him by the person he liked a lot. It was not pink, but wearing a dress? It was... it... i-it...

"No one else will come in since I locked the door. It doesn't have to be for long Jay." Hesitantly handing over the garment and feeling relieved when her boyfriend automatically took it, the samurai rocked on her heels. Oh please or please oh pleeeeease...

"Seriously an argument over me in a dress?" Holding the outfit out at arms reach just to look at it again, the blue ninja shook his head. Well, if it... if it made her happy to... defend his... uh, honor in such a weird way... was there a such thing as crossdressing honor? "Of course I'd look better in this one. Promise no one else comes in?" Clutching the gown close and glancing around the room suspiciously the blue ninja felt like the wall had eyes. Strangely enough tt really did feel like there was someone else watching, but that was just nerves, right?

"No one else comes in the room that's already here, promise." Nya sat back down on the chest and smiled widely. Yay!

"And not for long." Jay sighed and walked over to the folding wall and pulled it out. Of anything he could have imagined, this was definitely not something he would've come up with. It took a few minutes to change (hey unbuckling his sleeve armor could be a pain) and make sure the gown was facing the right way. Why yes, great gods of thunder, electricity and lightning or whatever other name for energy currents there were - he felt silly.

"...couldn't your friend just take your word on this and we could skip this?" The brown haired teen stuck his head out from the folding wall and shot a worried glance at his girlfriend. Yea he said he would, but this was not going to cultivate the manly image he wanted to portray to Nya.

Why yes he helped save the world, wield multiple weapons effectively, was training Llyod the destined to save the world again, expert inventor, maybe not so much the poet in this case but did all of this... nope. Nope. Nope. Only wearing a smock... even if it was a nice shade of blue he had to admit, was the most important thing right now to the only other person in this room. Okay, maybe he was exaggerating, but c'mon, it was a swooshy skirt. It felt funny. He probably looked funny. Maybe even ridiculous. Maybe he should have let Nya accept the tarnish on his reputation that he did not look good in such attire.

"Please?" A small hopeful smile, a small bat of the eyes, and the blue ninja knew he was done for. With a defeated sigh the brown haired boy shut his eyes and stepped out, hands clenched at his side as he waited for judgement. Laughter? Stony silence at looking funny? Disgusted snort?

"I knew that blue was your color." Nya said warmly and clapped her hands together. The lack of wig helped a lot, and the gown was long enough to reach his ankles instead of the strange shin length the pink one was at. Yes, although her favourite would have to be the hint of muscle from the loose sleeve... hm, possibilities to take to the tailor if she could get a few areas tightened up and... oh she was getting ahead of herself a little.

Jay cracked an eye open, then looked down at himself. Rolling his eyes he daintily lifted some of the fabric and raised an eyebrow. Yes, blue was his color but this still seemed... absurd. "Well, what's the verdict?" Gesturing at himself with his free hand the resigned teen shrugged. Ridiculous was his third middle name, came with being an inventor. Or maybe parents who kept picking things up and adding to their junkyard.

"Improvement for sure." The not-Nya's voice came from the other side of the room where Nya most definitely was not. The voice carried the same slight accent, and a quick look showed someone who held a fondness for dressing in red. Nya sibling. Kai. In the locked room. Oh he was hooped since he couldn't make a break for it in his current get up... and the fact the door was locked.

A strangled squeak worked it's way out of the wide eyed boy's throat as he stared in horrified shock before glancing back to Nya, then back to Kai, and then accusingly resting on his girlfriend before pointing at her sibling. "No one else!" Oh man oh man he was never going to live this down, the spiky haired kid would go tell everyone what he saw and it would ruin everything and-

"He... kind of was already in here Jay." The samurai bowed her head and kicked her feet feeling ashamed. "I sorta said no one else would come in..." It had been sneaky she admitted, but there was a reason.

"B-b-but why?! And... wait did you say improvement?" Forgetting his garment in his spark of anger, this time the spiky haired boy got a glare. If this was some crack at the dress being better than his gi... it was not practical fighting clothes... it... it was too swishy with extra fabric to get caught or trip over! And other stuff. Unnecessary. Frill fighting was never going to be a thing.

"Well, compared to last one that..." The fire ninja shrugged as he leaned against the wall. Hiding in the closet had been easy, picking the best timing to announce his presence... worth every moment of ninja training. Seeing the rare red faced full force embarrassed. angry, shamed dater of his little sister... priceless.

"Last one?! But... Nyaaaa..." Jay's voice turned plaintive as he turned his attention once again, "You said you wouldn't tell!" How did things go south so bad so fast?! This all happened because of a stupid dress. Important lesson of the day - never wear anything remotely dresslike ever again.

Slipping off the chest to walk over and put a hand on her boyfriend's shoulder the black haired girl managed a wan smile. "Well, it was more of a... show. I was clearing data off my suit, I keep a backup video in case something important gets recorded. Kai just managed to walk in at the right time and see." She wouldn't tell him her older brother had laughed for ten minutes straight and couldn't even stay standing.

The distraught teen just threw his hands in the air, left the samurai with her hand held out as he stalked over to the couch and sat on it in a huff. Great, so already almost half the people on the Bounty knew! Okay not half, just one third which was almost a half! Good enough to be half and... oh his reputation of awesome was now hooped. If a third knew and tell the rest it would tip the scales to one hundred percent! So very hooped. No one would let him live this down! Burying his face in his hands the teenager couldn't bring himself to look at anyone. He should have stayed for that other high scoooooore.

Feeling someone sat on his left, and then someone else sat to his right Jay just shook his head not bothering to even look. "C'mon I think you guys did enough for one day." Oh man he could already hear everyone laughing at him... the thought was so mortifying he'd either die of embarrassment or stay a permanent shade of red. Well, then they'd joke about being a stand in fire ninja and it would never. Ever. End. Jokes were well and good long as he wasn't the one at the receiving end all the time.

Person on the right leaned on his shoulder, and the one on the left gently pried one hand away from shielding his face. His just freed hand was loosely clasped in another before the blue ninja dared peek to the left. Was this going to be more salt in the wound? This was not his day.

"I... just wanted to see if you were serious." The black haired teen sighed and leaned her head on her boyfriend's shoulder. Mmn, silk.

"Of course I'm serious and... wait there's no bet?" Dropping the other hand from his face, Jay's eyes widened. So this had just been some sort of weird test...? It would make sense not to tell someone they were being tested, but she didn't believe how serious he was? Ouch.

"Oh there is." Nya looked up. Well, it was now or never. "Its just if you are serious, there is something you need to know." Fiddling with the brown haired boy's hand nervously (not that he usually minded), the samurai scooted closer and leaned her head on her boyfriend's shoulder. "You know how Kai and I come from a small village right?"

Glancing between siblings, curiosity began to bubble up from his humiliation. Both siblings were looking serious, what could the big secret be? Why did they both feel a need to be on his shoulder in some way? It kind of felt like he was trapped a little.

"We never had much, and early on we learned how to share things. Other people were nice enough, but Dad always said not to trust them. Having a blacksmith owe to many favours is one of the quickest ways to lose everything." The black haired girl gazed at the floor and sighed. She never liked talking about this.

Uh huh... so were they on the run from a massive debt? Growing up in the junkyard he never had those sorts of problems, but it didn't seem like something they should be hiding. Was there more to this?

"When dad died we were all alone, and we carried on the best we could. We did alright... and then... we discovered one day that we have the same... taste." Sitting back up to look at the blue ninja Nya bit her lip and waited.

Same taste? In food? The unbroken eyebrow went up as the baffled teen tried to figure this out. At least they weren't leaning on his shoulders anymore. Wait... same taste in clothes? Kai was a crossdresser?! Was that how he could so easily voice his opinion on dress? Maybe that would make sense? When did his other hand get grabbed too?

"It was a small village, and we... shared." Nya finished and looked back up. (((_Before y'all freak out, nope, no incest_.)))

Shared food? Shared clothes? Shared debts from a mob of sorts? The samurai wasn't being very clear. Brows furrowed Jay looked down at his lap. Sharing food was no big deal... and everyone would have helped with debts... the clothes thing he could understand keeping underwraps and... hold on his girlfriend wasn't... holding both... of his hands.

...

...

...

No that wasn't it.

The brown haired boy chuckled nervously and felt his heart beat faster. Okay, so he was sitting between the firey pair, with each one holding his hand. No that couldn't be it... could it? No just his imagination that was... was... going haywire.

"Do you get what I'm saying?" A worried look flitted across Nya's face as she leaned closer, reaching up to turn her boyfriend's face towards her. Leaning away the wide eyed blue ninja manged his second undignified squeak of the night as he felt a hand rest on his leg. Well, look at that, his heart can beat faster!

"I think he does Nya." Kai couldn't help but smirk at the rare speechless moment, and the chagrined look the other ninja sent up when he realized who he was leaning into.

And with that Jay finished his not quite so great night with faint.

**Author Notes: **Yeah... surprise! I've a few ideas running around but I figured I'd get one of the shorter ones out of the way. That being said... I kind of fail at short, and thus take a little while to actually get each chapter out. Like it, hate it, leave a review. :D Especially since I have't written anything in awhile, please and thank you!


	2. Off The Wrong Foot

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ninjago.**

The screaming alarm smashed through the comforting wall of sleep, and the wanton destruction earned a groan of protest. Flailing his arm over the side of his bed for it, for all the young inventor's intelligence he never seemed to remember he no longer lived in the junkyard and that there was no alarm right next to his bed nor was the floor in close proximity.

There was just enough distance from bed to floor for his brain to register the torpid teen was not on solid ground, shout, and ninja instincts kicking in to try to right himself before landing. It hasn't worked yet, but there was improvement from week to week! The regular roll from bed might explain why he always seemed to land on his feet more than anyone else, even if dazed.

Grumbling and rubbing a sore shoulder the brown haired boy sat up and blearily looked at the offending alarm clock before it smashed into the wall. Did his distress count as part of morning wake up by now? No one ever asked if he was alright after the daily tumble from bed... jerks.

Rubbing sleep from his eyes the blue pajama sporting ninja accepted a hand up from Zane and stretched out a thank you. Today was... sparring day? Morning sparring day, which meant breakfast was a few hours away! It was sad that the delicious meal was so far away, but a solid punch to a full stomach was even worse.

As everyone filed out of the room to get ready Jay felt his brain start to fully wake up. It was funny really, hating to wake up early, yet being the second (the nindroid held the first) to snap awake so easily. Hadn't he been having a weird dream, even weirder than usual? Nya was there, but so had been Kai and they had both wanted to... to... what did that sort of thing even mean? Was it something he ate before bed? Actually, what had he done before bed, the memory wasn't jumping out at him.

Shedding his clothes for his blue gi, the brown haired boy mulled it over as he left the discarded pajamas on the ground. Eh, he could pick them up after practice, they weren't going anywhere

Stepping out onto the deck the lightning ninja noticed they had set down. It made sense, if they were to be on equal minor elemental powers allowed sparring terms, Cole needed to be near the ground. Grabbing all the sparring gear he'd need, Jay hopped off the ship and ran towards his teacher. Aha! Not last!

It took a few more minutes for all the ninja to assemble and have gear on, and Wu's faint smile meant they had made good time. Any feelings of accomplishment faded when the old teacher announced the first match. Wishing it was over already Jay sighed and bowed to Cole. Ugh, these always took forever! The earth ninja could take many of hits, but if he landed a few of his own it would be over! Stupid earth strength.

As usual, the match started with a polite bow between opponents.

Stepping lightly on his feet (psh, element of lightning, it was his thing) the blue ninja danced just out of range of the large scythe. Dart in, dart out, try to coax a swing out of the still slightly groggy Cole, sneak in a couple of swings with his nunchaku and start the whole thing over again. That was the plan, and why it took forever to fight.

Ducking a swing, Jay rolled up close and swung his weapon at the earth ninja's stomach before leaping out. The pained grunt and furrowed brow meant his opponent was more awake now! Twirling the nunchaku above his head a few times for good measure, the brown haired boy winked and smiled. G'mornin' sunshine.

Jumping back from the annoyed swipes Jay reminded himself to stay focused. Yes, stay focused and not get carried away, were a couple of his biggest problems according to Sensei. Something to do with his element's inherent weakness or blah blah blah he's always been like that.

Circling one another earth and lightning continued to face off. The black haired teen wasn't falling for any more feints. Tucking his weapon under arm and jumping back from another too careful swing from his sparring partner Jay sighed. This was going to take forever! Why did the morning have to start so early, and with that weird dream? Still couldn't make any sense of it! Was that a jab at his a parents saying he'd find the right person one day who could keep up with his energy and enthusiastic personality? It was true he didn't have much luck dating anyone til he meet Nya and why did Cole suddenly shift his grip on his weapon like that?

Caught off guard the distracted teen barely registered his own confusion before he was rudely jabbed in the foot with the scythe's handle. The jolt of pain earned an exclamation of pain and involuntary hop backwards... in the foot?! Really?! Jay glared back up to Cole, only to see the other end of the larger weapon swinging towards him. Aw hooped-

Why was there a ringing in his ears? Pulling his helmet off the blue ninja blinked a few times and sat up. Ow. Ow! OW! "Could you have hit a little harder there Cole?" Rubbing his head he shot his team mate an angry stare.

"I didn't think it would work." The earth ninja shrugged and helped the other up. He decided not to mention that he pulled last moment when it looked like the usually agile ninja wasn't going to dodge it, or the fact it could have been the side with an edge. Whooo hooo he scored a victory against one of his more challenging and annoying opponents! Ye-ah! This was a good way to start the morning! Oh he was pumped for the next fight now!

"Yea yea." Dropping his hands to his side, both ninja looked towards thier teacher.

Taking a sip of tea before regarding his students, Wu took a deep breath. "Cole, nice job on catching your opponent off guard and maneuvering them to your advantage. Jay you lost focus, you must work on learning to keep it. Next."

Grumbling mostly to himself the blue ninja walked a few paces before flopping down on the ground. Seriously... the foot? It felt mostly okay, but there'd been a tiny funny twinge when he stepped on it. This was all happening because of that dream! Why would he dream of something like that? Sure he liked Nya a lot, like really a lot so that he could understand... but why had Kai been there? Sure he appreciated each of his brothers for their unique contributes to the team as a whole, but they all hadn't been in his dream.

Well, both fire and lightning ninja shared an affinity for scarred eyebrows. The absurd thought earned a small laugh from the pondering teenager as he reached up to rub at his broken eyebrow. Jay like to think it added charm to his arsenal of being awesome.

It wasn't like anyone on their team was bad looking, so that wasn't a factor for dreaming. Not that he thought of things like that before. Nope. He wouldn't admit this out loud the others was physically stronger than him by varying degrees... but then he would have thought of Cole, right? Each eccentric in their own way (Zane won there) and... augh he was going in circles now! It made no sense why he would have such a dream!

Someone snapped their fingers next to his ear. "Earth to Jay, your up next."

Jumping from his thoughts the blue ninja stared wide eyed up at Kai. "Oh, erm, already? Didn't you guys just start?" The quiet sound of Sensei Wu clearing his throat and the expectant glance Zane sent his way earned a sheepish grin as he scrambled back to his feet, into gear, and walked over. The nindroid gave him a studious look before they bowed to one another. That seer's sixth sense better not have picked up on this thoughts!

Deflecting the first shuriken with a snap of the nunchaku, Jay ran up close. The ice ninja dodged the first two swings and the third was a mere glance before he hopped out of range.

Zane barely had time to call back his weapon before the next barrage of attacks. Shuriken to block the nunchaku, side step the lightning fast front kick, and barely pulled his head back far enough to avoid the snapped crescent kick before rolling into a leap to gain some distance.

The brown haired boy rolled his eyes before sending a surge of electricity after the nindroid. Fully expecting the bolt to be dodged, Jay launched a flying kick at his opponent. Zane threw himself to the ground in the very last moment (seriously he almost felt that connect!) and shouted something as he flew over.

Jay's eyes widened when he realized his landing spot was now covered in ice and... aw hoop de doo.

Slipping immediately the blue ninja used his arms to soften the backwards fall as he slid down the patch of ice. Hearing the whir of shuriken the unlucky teen winced at his sure loss of this round. Sliding towards the edge of the ice, it curled upwards slowing his speed until the thrown weapons landed an inch from each shoulder. Sighing as he started to slide back down and bump into the weapons, the brown haired boy shot his opponent an upside down glare. Well, that had been more embarrassing than normal.

The blonde ninja hurried over and plucked his weapons up before helping his adopted brother to his feet. "Are you okay?"

"That was new." Holding onto the always so strangely surefooted-on-ice nindroid Jay frowned. "Just think that one up?"

"No, the timing is usually never right, but I've been wanting to try it for some time." Heading towards the edge of the ice the light haired robot only let go once they reached the sand. Eyes narrowed as he watched Jay walk away. It was just barely noticeable, but he was favouring left foot. No one else seemed concerned, maybe he was looking into it too much?

Pulling off his helmet, the blue ninja flopped on the ground and his foot still felt a little funny. Absently rubbing his ankle while he tuned out whatever Sensei said (probably like good job Zane, and okay job Jay but be more aware of your position blah blah tea), the upset teen let his mind wander. Long as he didn't lose the last round he could get through the day. Just don't think about the dream and it will all be okay.

Heck, if it wasn't for that dream he would have won against Cole (as usual) probably lost against Zane (as usual), and Kai was closer to fifty-fifty for winning (unpredictable). Something about fighting styles having inherent weaknesses and strengths, which is why they all specialized in different things and then fought one another. Sensei talked about elements favouring one style over another, so even if they all learned basic spinjitsu they would still have their own specialty. Sensei sure was prattling about the elements more than usual, maybe he was waiting for a development regarding them?

Blinking back towards the match the brown haired boy sighed and sat up straighter just in time to see the earth ninja land a foot away from him... face first in the sand. Suddenly feeling much better the amused teen stood up and helped free the flailing brother of his. "Can't say I'm shocked you dove headfirst into your training." Not bothering to hide the amused lilt in his voice, Jay laughed. Aw, c'mon that was a good one!

Cole spat out some sand and shook himself violently sending the fine particles everywhere. The frown mellowed when the obnoxious laughter was replaced with coughing. "It's the only way to do it. Thanks." The black haired boy clapped his hand down on the blue ninja's shoulder before settling down to spectate the next match.

Making a face and spitting out, Jay frowned and ignored the earth ninja. Sand was on his tongue, ugh he could taste it! Who knows where this sand has been? Maybe it'd been stuck on a serpentine's foot and was only recently released and... he was going to rinse his mouth and drink a whole lot of water after thinking that. Pushing the thought from his head (thankfully the taste was fading) as he jammed the sparring helmet on the teenager paused before his red-clad opponent. Time for one victory!

Taking a deep breath and bowing, the blue ninja wished they were on slightly more solid ground. It would help his footwork, not that he relied on it more than the others. Well. Okay, maybe he did a little. Solid footing, quicker moves, his specialty, oh yeah.

Jumping back to avoid the first strike Jay kept his weapon still as he started to circle the fire ninja. The spiky haired boy smirked and mirrored the other ninja's movements. Resisting the urge to smile the blue ninja suddenly pointed to somewhere over Kai's shoulder before running in close to attack. Sure Kai would've rolled his eyes at the oldest trick in the book and ignored it, but he wouldn't expect an attack right after.

The fire ninja barely dodged the first swung and countered with strong side kick. Resisting the urge to snicker Jay tucked into a roll (just barely avoiding hitting his opponents other leg) and landed in a crouch just behind Kai. Not wasting any time the brown haired boy leapt into the air before the red ninja turned around to see him.

Everything was going according to the spur of the moment plan.

Well, until he landed that is.

Jay grit his teeth as left foot crumpled bringing him to his knees and leaving his eyes watering. That was not how it was supposed to go and hooped! Raising the nunchaku the teen barely deflected sword coming at him. The force ripped his weapon from his hands and left the blue ninja sprawled in the sand. Right... Kai would have kept turning for the counterattack, but if his plan had worked then he would have been too slow! Three losses, a hurt foot, and almost losing his handsome head. Great start of the day, can't wait to see what the rest of the morning is like.

The fire ninja jabbed his sword in the sand and looked apologetic as helped the other boy stand up. Sparring was not meant to end in an injury any worse than a bruise.

Sensei Wu hadn't bothered to call the end of the match, his students were grown enough to see when fights were at an end. Using his bamboo staff to walk over the bearded man stroked his whiskers. Losing focus in battle could be fatal, maybe his student would learn from this mistake. Arriving just as Jay pulled his helmet off and threw it aside the elder leaned over shook his head as he tugged the blue footwear off.

"I'm not sure what happened, I've done plenty of moves like that." Jay winced as thier teacher began prodding and testing the range of motion for his foot. Was that a big red spot on top of his foot? Eyes narrowed the brown haired boy shot a look over towards Cole. The earth ninja just scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. Oh he was going to be blamed.

"It looks like a minor sprain." Straightening up Wu sighed at his answer. "Cole, please go get me some bandages ready in the Bounty." Turning the elder began to walk to the ship, the sun was rising and the temperature would be rising even faster.

As the earth ninja ran ahead, Zane picked up the discarded gear and shook the sand out of it. Next time he will speak up sooner on his suspicions so this situation may not happen again. The nindroid frowned and began to trudge towards their home when he heard his name called.

"Interesting morning, huh?" The spiky haired teen started sympathetically as he threw one of Jay's arms over his shoulder. He had a smiliar injury when he was younger, and it was no fun.

"Oh sure." Taking a tentative first hop the blue ninja's eyes widened as he felt the sand shift to the side beneath his foot. As much as he'd like to admit flailing his free arm saved him, it was the other teen's arm that wrapped around him that regained his stability. "Because this is always a wonderful start to the day. Ugh, I hate willowbark tea. It works and all, but I'm not that much of a willowbark tea fan."

"I think Sensei is more likely going to talk about you being distracted." Walking a little faster than a snail the red clad teen focused on keeping them both upright.

"What a ninja can't have an off day? I mean, I was just about to jolt you for a quick match, I was plenty focused." Making a frantic gesture with his free hand Jay scoffed. Yes perfection is an ideal and working towards the unreachable goal is commendable... or foolish. There were sayings, and sensei probably knew both sides.

Kai winced as he imagined the scenario, oh that would have hurt and set him up for a nice finishing combo. Was it bad of him to be slightly thankful for way the match ended? "Before all that you were. Did you have a couple hot topics on mind or something?" Raising both eyebrows the fire ninja spared the injured one a quick glance.

"No just a weird... whoa!" Pitching forward the blue ninja almost took both of them down as he lost his footing again. Curse this sand! And the stupid dream.

Remembering the dream Jay suddenly felt awkward. If it had been dream Nya holding a hand, with one hand on her face then it had been dream Kai with the other hand held and the one on his leg. Of course this wasn't a dream and he had an arm around the other boy... and there was an arm around his back. Sure it was only to get him back to the ship but-

"It might be faster if I carried you." The spiky haired teen grunted as he helped pull the other teen back up straight. "Safer too, you're going to sprain your other foot on the sand at this rate."

"Oh no no no no I'm not doing that. If I had a broken foot, yes, but I can crawl back if I have to." Shaking his head violently Jay glanced towards the Bounty. They were a quarter of the way there, it would just take another ten minutes or so. Or, maybe more. How long has it been?

The fire ninja closed his eyes and sighed. Well, if it had to be done. At the rate they were going his team mate was going to sprain his other foot. One would get enough complaining, but two? Silence would cease to exist.

"I would not hear the end of it if- what are you doing?" Throwing his arms out for balance as the spiky haired boy let go of him to step in front of him and shrugged. Realization dawning on him Jay glared at the other teenager. He wouldn't... wait... fire was not known for patience.

"Kai, no. No. Nooo. Kai. Noooo-" The sinking feeling in his stomach whooshed out when the fire ninja's shoulder rammed into it. Curling instinctively the brown haired boy felt his feet leave the ground as he was hefted up. Okay that was pretty smooth, but he did not appreciate the gesture!

"We'll get there faster so Sensei Wu won't be waiting as long." Turning around the former blacksmith smirked as he glanced over his shoulder. "Or I could switch to princess style if you want." Laughing to himself as he ignored the flurry insults Kai walked briskly towards the moored ship. Alright, the fire ninja would admit part of him enjoyed that.

Jay just groaned and covered his face. Worst. Morning. Ever.

No video games. It was some kind of cruel and unusual punishment!

Jay sighed from his nest of pillows in the living room and glared at his bandaged foot. Keep off your foot Jay. Use a crutch if you must walk Jay. Keep it raised up when you're sitting down Jay. Zane will ice it a few times a day Jay. No video games Jay, so you may focus on settling what troubles your mind Jay. Have no fun at all for a week Jay before we assess your foot again Jay.

Throwing his hands up the brown haired boy let them fall on the cushions beside him. How was he going to get up to his bed? What if he got hungry? What if there was a Serpentine attack? Ice and earth might be good at sitting around, but electricity was not!

The gray-bound book that mysteriously fell into his lap startled the blue ninja out of his mental grumblings.

"Thought you'd be bored, and I didn't hear anything against this." Nya flopped down on the pillows nearby and smiled.

"Heeey my blueprint book!" Flipping a few pages before finding a pencil tucked inside Jay brightened. Working on these would pass some time... and he hadn't been working on his inventions as much lately. Saving the world was a little more important and time consuming.

"Of course if Sensei asks you didn't get it from me." Blinking down at the open page the samurai wondered why it looked like a giant pogo and why there was a big red x over it. Maybe it was a failed experiment of some sort?

"Yes." Closing the book and hiding it under a nearby pillow the brown haired boy beamed at his girlfriend. "Thanks for bringing it over." Now the challenge would be to not get so absorbed that he stopped listening for footsteps.

"But I guess this," the black haired girl gestured down towards the ninja's injury, "means we're going to have to reschedule our date on Thursday." Nya laughed at the mortified look her boyfriend sent her and patted him on the shoulder. "It's fine, we'll just go somewhere extra nice. Maybe even a place where we have to dress up. I think that sounds fun."

Dress up? Sounds fun? Normally they didn't do that sort of thing for dates and it was kind of reminding him of that blasted dream. Jay absently pulled a pillow over to hug to ward off the unlucky distraction. Maybe he was just being too... jumpy since the dream was unnerving? First Kai then Nya making him think about it...

"Ehehe... that sounds like it needs reservations and Sensei said this might take a week or more to heal. Who knows where we'll be in a week, right?" Seeing disappointment flash over the samurai's face Jay reached out for her hand. "Maybe we can wait a little later and go when we pass by Ninjago City, I hear they have some great places too."

"I'll just have to keep visiting you til then." Leaning over to peck his cheek the black haired girl winked before she left. There was some maintenance to do, and without Jay she would be stuck with most of it.

"Anytime." Jay sighed happily as he watch his super talented and so thoughtful girlfriend walk out the door. At this rate the dream would return as a nightmare if it kept bothering him this much. Maybe he should take an extra step for a dreamless night.

Rubbing his eyes the brown haired boy glanced out the window. The day had left him wound up and a little wary of going back to sleep. What if another weird dream popped up? He missed his bunk bed. The bottom bunk was just not the same, and there were so many pillows everywhere! What is it with injured people getting plied with cushions?

Pulling the tea kettle off the stove before it started to whistle, Jay limped his way back to the table as the tea steeped. The blue ninja had a sneaking suspicion that Sensei had picked up this brew specifically for him. It wasn't like he enjoyed being shocked awake in the middle of the night now and then, but Wu had just nodded sagely and told him about the sleepy tea. There always seemed to be plenty of it, and no one else seemed to drink it.

Rolling his eyes the annoyed teenager poured himself a cup of tea and blew on it. The ship could be eerily quiet at night, with just the occasional creak 'n moan from the Bounty herself. Jay reassured himself that soon he'd go back and hear his brothers breathing (with an occasional snore) would also help sooth him back to sleep. He didn't mind, in fact if things were silent the brown haired boy felt edgy.

After chugging one cup and almost burning his mouth Jay poured another and let his mind wander.

Creak. Creak.

Raising an eyebrow and the sound, it was to frequent to be a usual noise and... oh no if he was caught not using his crutch he'd get into trouble! Glancing around the blue ninja bit his lip, where was the best place to hide on short notice with a sprained ankle? Grabbing the teapot and his cup Jay wiggled under the low table and wishing it'd be enough to hide him.

It was almost executed perfectly, except for when his cup splashed some hot liquid on his hand. How Sensei Wu made moving with scalding hot tea look so easy! Jay hoped whoever it was didn't hear the hiss of pain he let out, that was hot!

"-not sure." That was a voice, kind of soft and... maybe Nya?

"You didn't see him this morning, I'm telling you he is." Oh that was definitely Kai, and the voices were getting louder

"I didn't get anything earlier though." The door opened and the blue ninja saw two pairs of feet walk into the room. One pair walked to the middle of the room, and the other walked towards the stove area.

"He was even more distracted than normal this morning Nya. He must be thinking it over." One red clad foot tapped impatiently before they started pacing.

"We can't push him Kai, I mean he fainted last time, where's the teapot?"

Wait. Push him? Faint? Eyes widening in alarm as the dream turned out to be no dream the realization jolted Jay up and smash his head on the table. Silence fell on the room and the blue ninja winced and rubbed his head. Yes, he was truly a master of stealth, yet his own worst enemy.

When the brown haired boy saw Nya and Kai look under the table, the teen chuckled nervously and offered the teapot out. "Sleepy tea anyone?" Seeing the siblings exchange a glace the samurai took the teapot, the fire ninja took his wrist and pulled out the injured team member.

No one said a word as they all settled down at the table, and Jay knew they were glancing at him. "Okay... so... that... wasn't a dream." Rubbing the sore spot on his head the blue ninja was content to stare at his half full tea cup.

"No, it wasn't." Kai sounded neutral as he stared at the empty table spot in front of him. Wow, how much more awkward could this get?

Hand coming down to cover his face the brown haired boy shook his head. Really? He fainted? No, he would chalk it up to mental overload, because that sounded much better than fainting or passing out.

"But not a nightmare?" Clasping her hands together Nya let a hopeful note enter her voice. Maybe her sibling was right after all? Weird, she usually had a better grasp for these sorts of situations.

"No, but I have questions, but not today." Jay finished off his tea and pushed his cup away before looking up. "Tomorrow night."

"We could answer anything now." The fire ninja spoke up again as he looked over at the injured teen. He seemed much calmer about this today.

"Sleepy. Tea." Pointing at the empty cup the brown haired boy shook his head. "Extra strong brew second cup. Not enough time for it, and I need to get back to bed." As if to prove the point a yawn escaped from his mouth before he could stop it. Wow, this was a potent batch, he should've had a few more minutes.

Nya nodded. "Alright, after everyone's asleep we'll meet and talk." Looking around the room the black haired girl frowned. "Where's your crutch Jay."

"...back in the room...?" Wincing at being found out the glare of not one but two people caused Jay to hunch over and fiddle with the table's edge. Yea, okay, maybe he should have taken the darn thing along after all. It had just been a quick trip down the hall. Holding his hands up, the blue ninja pointed to the wall. "I'll just use that to get back, mind if I leave you guys to clean up?"

Kai shook his head and stood up. "Not a chance, you heard Sensei Wu." Nya nodded in agreement and picked up the teapot and cup.

"It's not even that far a walk, minor sprain. It's a minor sprain, just hurts a little when I walk on it." Eyes glancing between the two the brown haired boy started to get up.

"Which is why you shouldn't walk on it yet." The samurai put the dishes in the sink and crossed her arms. "Plus, if you make too much noise you're going to have to explain the lack of." Pointing over to her brother a sneaky smile worked it's way on her face.

Make noise about what? Both eyebrows raised in confusion, the teen looked over and groaned.

"Easy way or hard way Jay." Kai grinned as he knelt down with his back towards the other ninja.

"I don't have a choice in this do I?" Shoulders drooping whatever sort of manly pride he might have today were ground to a dust finer than the sand from the morning.

"Nope. / Nah." were the chorused answers.

"Let it be known I disapprove." Wrapping his arms around the spiky haired boy's neck, he felt the fire ninja wrap his arms under his knees before standing up. Great... being carried piggy back. "You're not going to talk or plot behind my back are you?" Blinking between siblings accusingly as the thought occurred to him, both shook their head.

"No, it's... resolved as it can be right now. Night Jay." Nya waved cheerfully as they turned the corner and left her sight.

Yawning the blue ninja felt his eyes growing heavier. "What was the hard way?"

"What I did this morning." Sighing softly when he felt a chin rest on his shoulder, Kai turned the last corner and nudged the door open with his foot. Good thing it wasn't closed.

"Mmn, jerk." And with that Jay drifted off.

**Author Notes: **Well chapter two done... one last chapter before this is sone! Sorry for the oddness, but it was a little idea that I wanted to write out to warm up for a big action-adventure idea I have. :D Got a little carried away with this chapter and the fight scene though. Whoops. Anyway, please leave a review with any sort of feedback, it keeps me motivated.


End file.
